Golf ball retriever



Sept. 3, 1940. J. c. HAVERBACH GOLF BALL RETRIEVER Filed Feb. 11, 1938 Bnventor JOSEPH C. HA VEFPE/IC/f.

(Ittorneg Patented Sept. 3, 1940 UNITED STATES PTENT FFlCE 4 Claims.-

This invention relates to golf ball retrievers.

The object of the invention is to provide a retriever which will be in the form of a golf club having all of the important characteristics that are desirable in the use of a golf club.

A further object of this invention is to provide a driver club head which is preferably constructed and balanced for use as such and which has a cavity therein to render the same highly efficient for use in retrieving balls from water hazards or other difficult positions.

Further objects and advantages attained by this invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description and from the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a driver club head comprising my invention.

Figure 2 is an end view thereof.

Figure 3 is a front view in vertical section on line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a similar view on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing a modified form of the invention.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 5.

As shown in the drawing, the numeral 5 denotes a golf club head which is preferably in the form of a driver. The said head is provided with the usual ball striking surface 6, a hollow shank l integrally formed therewith, and a handle 8.

A cavity 9 is formed in the top of the head 5 at a distance from the striking surface 6 in order to provide a thickened wall portion H] which ends in a substantially thick edge 4 I and provides sufiicient strength, for that portion of the head, to withstand the force which is applied thereto when a ball is struck.

It will be noted that the wall surrounding the cavity 9 is sloped downwardly and towards the center of said cavity so that it is tapered, in cross section, towards the top thereof and provides a substantially thin edge !2 which extends around the periphery of said cavity except at that portion thereof which comprises the thick edge H. The outer surface of the contour of said head, with the exception of that portion which comprises the striking surface 6, is preferably shaped, as at it, so as to conform closely with the conventional shape of a driver club head. As it will be seen from Figures 3 and 4, the walls of said cavity are inclined symmetrically in a downward direction towards the lowermost portion of the bottom of the cavity in order that a ball, when in said cavity, will not fall out of the cavity in case the club head is not held in a level position.

In retrieving a ball from a water hazard, it is highly desirable to provide for the passage of the water through the bottom of the cavity 9 so that the ball will remain therein while it is being lifted from its position. If the water were not permitted to drain through the bottom. of said cavity, it would be very difficult to keep the ball in said cavity, while it is being lifted, as the water currents created by the movement of the head would tend to carry the ball out of the cavity. For this reason, a drain opening M is provided at the lowermost point in the bottom of the cavity and in order to prevent stoppage of said opening, should the ball roll into a position directly over it, means are provided, such as the ledges l 5l5, on the bottom of the cavity, which form a groove leading into the said drain opening l4 and act to support the ball upon a plane above said opening; thus preventing the said ball from coming into contact with the edges of the opening and closing the same and thereby permitting the water to drain through said opening.

In the modified form illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the means for preventing the ball from closing the opening l4 are provided in the shape of grooves H which are formed in the bottom of the cavity 9 and lead into the drain opening M. When the ball is positioned over the said opening, it will be supported upon the high points [8, between the said grooves, and thereby prevented from closing said opening.

If desired, a striking plate 213, of suitable material, may be fastened to the striking surface 6, as illustrated in Figure 5, by screws 2! or other suitable fastening means extending into the said wall; the thickness of said wall permitting said screws to be of sufficient length for securely fastening the striking plate without extending into the cavity 9.

It will be noted that the portion of the bottom surface which surrounds the opening it, at the bottom of the head, is curved upwardly, as at l9, so as to prevent the edge of the opening from scraping into the ground when the head is swung to strike a ball.

It will also be noted that the rear of the head I5 is of a lesser height than the front so as to provide a substantially lower wall in the back portion of the cavity Q and thereby rendering it easier to scoop up the ball from the bottom of a hole or water hazerd with the back of the club head.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that, by my invention, I have provided a club head which may be economically produced from a single unitary piece of metal, such as aluminum or other suitable material, and in such a manner that a golf club, comprising my improved head, may be used with maximum efiiciency as a driver as well as a retriever.

I claim:

1. A golf ball retriever comprising a unitary structure in the shape of a golf club head; the said head having a cavity sloping downwardly from the top thereof and a groove in the bottom of said cavity, and an opening in the bottom of said groove whereby a ball in said recess is supported upon the edges of said groove and thereby prevented from closing said opening.

2. A golf ball retriever comprising a unitary structure in the shape of a golf club head having a recess in the top thereof; the bottom of said recess sloping downwardly and having an opening therethrough, and means comprising a groove in said bottom and leading into said opening to permit communication with said opening when a ball is positioned thereover.

3. A golf ball retriever having the shape of a. golf club comprising a head and shaft; said head having a cavity in the top thereof substantially larger than a golf ball and an opening in the bottom of said cavity smaller than the diameter of said ball, and means adjcent the said opening for preventing the said ball from closing the same.

4. A golf ball retriever comprising a head having a cavity therein; the bottom of said cavity sloping inwardly at the edges of said cavity and having an opening therein, and raised portions in the bottom of said cavity adjacent to said opening for preventing a ball from closing the same.

JOSEPH C. HAVERBACH. 

